London close: FTSE 100 hits 6,000

It was a quiet the markets on the last full day of trading before Christmas, but the top share index's attempt to inch past the 6,000 point mark proved an exciting spectacle.A final push ensured that symbolically important feat was achieved, but FTSE 100 closed just below that level, last seen in the first half of 2008.Turning to individual stocks, ARM gave back some of yesterday's big gains. Rio Tinto, which closed slightly lower, has increased its offer for Riversdale Mining to A$16 a share in cash, securing the backing of management for a deal worth A$3.9bn (£2.5bn). The mining giant admitted earlier this month it had talked to the Sydney-based firm, which has interests in African coal, about a A$15 a share takeover valuing the business at £2.2bn (A$3.5bn).Pharmaceuticals giants AstraZeneca and Abbott have dissolved their collaboration agreement covering the development of Certriad capsules. After the US FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for the Certriad new drug application the two companies decided that the resulting regulatory delay meant development of Certriad is no longer commercially attractive. Outsourcing giant Capita has announced two bolt-on acquisitions. It is buying hotel and meetings bookings firm BSI for £42.5m, and ICT services provider SunGard Public Sector Holdings for £86m.Train operator National Express has been given an early Christmas present in the form of a two-year extension on its c2c rail franchise. The decision by the Department for Transport (DfT) means the franchise will now run to 26 May 2013, although it has an option to terminate from 8 December 2012.Afren, the Africa-focused oil and gas company, said well tests on its Ebok field, located off the coast of Nigeria, have provided confirmation of phase one production expectations of more than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).FTSE 100 - RisersTUI Travel (TT.) 247.50p +2.48%Kingfisher (KGF) 263.70p +2.17%Next (NXT) 2,007.00p +1.83%Vodafone Group (VOD) 172.45p +1.74%Old Mutual (OML) 124.80p +1.55%GKN (GKN) 226.00p +1.44%BP (BP.) 476.65p +1.41%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,648.00p +1.33%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 381.70p +1.25%Land Securities Group (LAND) 673.00p +1.13%FTSE 100 - FallersIntertek Group (ITRK) 1,814.00p -2.53%ARM Holdings (ARM) 429.80p -2.38%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,613.00p -1.22%Xstrata (XTA) 1,504.00p -1.12%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,584.00p -1.12%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,266.00p -1.02%Carnival (CCL) 3,029.00p -0.98%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,535.00p -0.97%ICAP (IAP) 532.50p -0.93%Aggreko (AGK) 1,502.00p -0.92%FTSE 250 - RisersExillon Energy (EXI) 349.00p +9.75%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 31.11p +4.85%Avis Europe (AVE) 235.40p +4.16%3i Infrastructure (3IN) 125.20p +3.56%Premier Foods (PFD) 19.50p +3.12%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 447.10p +3.04%Polar Cap Technology Trust (PCT) 384.00p +2.73%St James's Place (STJ) 274.90p +2.65%William Hill (WMH) 170.40p +2.59%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 89.95p +2.39%FTSE 250 - FallersCarpetright (CPR) 771.00p -3.62%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 519.00p -3.08%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 100.70p -2.89%Michael Page International (MPI) 550.50p -2.65%BTG (BGC) 230.10p -2.13%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 83.10p -2.06%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,638.00p -1.86%Grainger (GRI) 100.00p -1.67%Bellway (BWY) 651.00p -1.66%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 350.90p -1.60%